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Destination Dossier

England

From London's internationally prominent dining to countryside charm

England travel destination

The Destination Brief

England is home to among the more diverse and dynamic dining scenes in the world, anchored by London — a city with more Michelin stars than any other in Europe — and extending into a countryside rich with notable gastro pubs, coastal seafood restaurants, and destination dining rooms. London The capital's culinary landscape is staggering in its breadth. From the well-known fine-dining establishments of Mayfair and Chelsea to the innovative kitchens of Shoreditch and Bermondsey, London offers every cuisine and every price point. The city's best restaurants draw on global influences while celebrating the leading British produce, and its wine bar and cocktail culture is among the more sophisticated anywhere. The North Manchester, Leeds, and the broader North of England have experienced a genuine dining renaissance. Bold, chef-driven restaurants now sit alongside the region's well-known pub culture, while York, Harrogate, and the Lake District offer some of England's most atmospheric dining experiences. The Cotswolds & West Country Bath, Cheltenham, and the honey-stone villages of the Cotswolds have long attracted food lovers. Destination restaurants, artisan producers, and country house hotels with celebrated kitchens make this one of England's most rewarding regions for culinary travel. The South Coast & Southwest From the bohemian food scene of Brighton to the seafood paradise of Cornwall, England's southern coastline is a treasure trove. Padstow, Dartmouth, and the fishing villages of Devon and Cornwall have become synonymous with some of the country's leading and freshest cooking.

Awards in England

Top 25 accolades

Hover any badge for the full award name. Counts reflect venues holding each accolade in England.

8
19
93
8
22
42
66
617
515
209
102
65
58
54
52
44
43
42
38
38
37
32
21
17
15

England

Restaurants

Selected entries from the current guide for England.

CORE by Clare Smyth restaurant in London

London, United Kingdom

CORE by Clare Smyth

CORE by Clare Smyth sits at the formal end of London's Modern British movement, where the old promise of local produce has been pushed from pub comfort into tasting-menu precision. Clare Smyth's Notting Hill restaurant has La Liste 2026 recognition at 98 points, National Restaurant Awards Top 100 placement, Star Wine List accreditation, and a cooking style that gives British vegetables the same status usually reserved for luxury seafood and game.

London, United Kingdom
KOL restaurant in London

London, United Kingdom

KOL

KOL arrived in Marylebone in late 2020 and rapidly became one of London's most closely watched restaurant openings, earning a Michelin star and a World's 50 Best ranking of #17 by 2024. The premise is structurally unusual: a ten-course tasting menu built entirely on British-sourced ingredients, reinterpreted through 9,000 years of Mexican culinary tradition. The downstairs Mezcaleria offers one of the UK's most serious agave spirit collections as a standalone destination.

London, United Kingdom
Woven by Adam Smith restaurant in Ascot

Ascot, United Kingdom

Woven by Adam Smith

Woven by Adam Smith occupies the dining room at Coworth Park, a Dorchester Collection country house hotel set within 246 acres of Berkshire countryside near Ascot. Holding one Michelin star and scoring 90 points on La Liste 2026, the restaurant serves a £185 tasting menu built around British produce, with a structure divided into pantry, larder, stove, and pastry. Thursday through Sunday service only; booking well in advance is advised.

Ascot, United Kingdom
Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library restaurant in London

London, United Kingdom

Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library

Sketch's Lecture Room and Library has held three Michelin stars since its ascent to the upper tier of London's Modern French dining, operating from an 18th-century Mayfair mansion at 9 Conduit St. Pierre Gagnaire's multi-dish signature approach — langoustine in liquorice beurre noisette accompanied by a constellation of complex side preparations — defines the format, while head chef Johannes Nuding steers execution across a room that ranks #105 on La Liste 2026.

London, United Kingdom
Frog by Adam Handling restaurant in London

London, United Kingdom

Frog by Adam Handling

Adam Handling's Covent Garden flagship operates on a ten-course tasting menu format built around seasonal British produce and a zero-waste philosophy, priced at £199 per person. The room is deliberately spare, the kitchen open, and the atmosphere closer to a charged dining room than a hushed fine-dining sanctuary. A Michelin star and a five-Radish rating from the Sustainable Restaurant Guide signal where it sits in London's competitive tasting-menu tier.

London, United Kingdom

England

Hotels

Selected entries from the current guide for England.

The Savoy hotel in London

London, United Kingdom

The Savoy

Opened in 1889 on the Strand, The Savoy set the template for London luxury that every grand hotel since has worked against or toward. Now managed by Fairmont, its 268 rooms split between Edwardian and Art Deco interiors, its bars carry century-deep credentials, and its position near the Thames places it at the geographic and historical centre of the city's premium hotel tier. La Liste ranked it 99.5 points in 2026; World's 50 Best Hotels placed it 47th in 2023.

London, United Kingdom
Hotel Café Royal hotel in London

London, United Kingdom

Hotel Café Royal

At the southern curve of Regent Street, Hotel Café Royal occupies a position that is as much historical as geographical — the address where Oscar Wilde drank, David Bowie partied, and a Georgian façade now conceals 160 rooms of Portland stone and Carrara marble. With two Michelin stars at Alex Dilling, a La Liste Top Hotels score of 97.5 points, and pastry from Albert Adrià's Cakes & Bubbles, it remains one of London's most complete luxury addresses.

London, United Kingdom
The Peninsula London hotel in London

London, United Kingdom

The Peninsula London

Opened on one of London's most historically weighted corners, adjacent to Wellington Arch and Hyde Park Corner, The Peninsula London brings the group's Asian-rooted service tradition to a purpose-built property designed by Peter Marino. Its 190 rooms carry rates from around $1,071 per night, and the in-house restaurant Brooklands by Claude Bosi holds two Michelin stars. La Liste ranked it at 96.5 points in its 2026 Top Hotels edition.

London, United Kingdom
The Beaumont Mayfair hotel in London

London, United Kingdom

The Beaumont Mayfair

Set on a quiet Mayfair street overlooking Brown Hart Gardens, The Beaumont operates in the tradition of the grand independent hotel: 101 rooms and suites with Art Deco interiors refined by architect Thierry Despont, a Michelin-starred restaurant under chef Lisa Goodwin-Allen, and Antony Gormley's ROOM — an inhabitable sculpture that is, to date, the only artwork of its kind bookable as a hotel suite. La Liste ranked it 94 points in 2026.

London, United Kingdom
Rosewood London hotel in London

London, United Kingdom

Rosewood London

A five-star Edwardian landmark on High Holborn, Rosewood London sits at the geographic divide between the City and the West End, placing guests within walking distance of the British Museum, Covent Garden, and the Inns of Court. Its 306 rooms and 45 suites occupy a former insurance headquarters redesigned by Tony Chi, while the dining programme — anchored by Holborn Dining Room, the Mirror Room, and the celebrated Scarfes Bar — runs seven nights a week. Virtuoso Hotel of the Year 2014, with a La Liste score of 99 points in 2026.

London, United Kingdom
The Berkeley hotel in London

London, United Kingdom

The Berkeley

Rated 98 points by La Liste (2026) and carrying Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star status, The Berkeley occupies a Knightsbridge address where Hyde Park begins and Harrods is a short walk. Part of the Maybourne Hotel Group, its 190 rooms span individually designed interiors by André Fu, Robert Angell and John Heah. Marcus Wareing's restaurant, Cedric Grolet's pâtisserie, and the Surrenne wellness club complete a property that competes in London's tightest luxury tier.

London, United Kingdom
Haymarket Hotel, Firmdale Hotels hotel in London

London, United Kingdom

Haymarket Hotel, Firmdale Hotels

Behind a restrained Georgian façade just off Piccadilly Circus, Haymarket Hotel delivers the Firmdale formula at its most culturally embedded: Kit Kemp's signature bold-colour interiors across 53 rooms, an 18-metre swimming pool with poolside bar, and a brasserie-style restaurant, all within walking distance of the National Gallery and the heart of London's Theatreland. La Liste scored it 91.5 points in its 2026 Top Hotels ranking.

London, United Kingdom

England

Bars

Selected entries from the current guide for England.

Happiness Forgets bar in London

London, United Kingdom

Happiness Forgets

One of Hoxton Square's most recognised addresses, Happiness Forgets earned a place in the World's 50 Best Bars every year from 2012 to 2019, peaking at number six globally. The basement bar trades in precisely constructed cocktails without theatrical staging, positioning itself in the quieter, more technically serious end of London's drinking culture. Open daily from 5pm, it remains a reference point for how East London reshaped the city's cocktail conversation.

London, United Kingdom
Marksman restaurant in London

London, United Kingdom

Marksman

A brown-tiled Hackney Road fixture with St. JOHN lineage, Marksman occupies a specific position in London's pub dining canon: wood-panelled bar downstairs, more considered dining room above, and cooking that takes British seasonal produce as seriously as any white-tablecloth room. Holding a Michelin Plate and ranked #444 on Opinionated About Dining's 2025 Casual Europe list, it earns its reputation through restraint and sourcing rather than spectacle.

London, United Kingdom

England

Wineries

Selected entries from the current guide for England.

Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards winery in Windsor

Windsor, United Kingdom

Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards

Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards in the Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, crafts Burgundian-inspired, estate-driven Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Signature wines include The Cutrer Chardonnay, Russian River Ranches Chardonnay, and Sonoma Coast Chardonnay. The 270-acre Cutrer Vineyard within a 450-acre estate yields concentrated fruit from fog-cooled slopes; the cellar team emphasizes terroir-forward winemaking, limited library releases and a bespoke Club Cutrer allocation program. Expect layered citrus, stone-fruit and saline acidity on the Chardonnay, and supple red-fruit, earth and spice on Pinot Noir — tasting through mineral textures and precise oak balance that recall cool-climate Burgundian technique and Sonoma provenance.

Windsor, United Kingdom